Pamirian spaces: Mapping process geographies in the mountainous periphery

Abstract

Pamirian spaces are perceived as marginal and peripheral mountainous regions in independent states that are quite diverse and complex entities. The contested colonial space of Central Asia resulted in the formation of diverse spaces that can be related to path-dependent developments. Their relationships with the respective centres of power have been dependent on the socio-political regimes that prevail and that have changed and been transformed over time from autocratic emirates and fiefdoms to revolutionary laboratories and independent states during the last quarter century. Civilisational imaginations and developmental strategies of external actors have contributed to societal processes and economic performances that are rooted in path dependency.